How to take care of yourself

Nowadays, with all the new technologies and social networks that are clearly embedded in society, we have access to so much. If we want to, we can follow a friend's entire day on Facebook or see all the projects that each of our Instagram followers have started. We are in an era where it is so prevalent to always do something more, something big. Always bigger. And everyone is following the masses. Outings with friends, work, school, appointments, making food, teaching the kids all sorts of things, helping them with their homework... We never stop. And even when we think we're taking a few minutes alone, we still find ourselves reaching for our phones.

We come to forget ourselves and our mental health takes a hit. So to remedy this, here are my 4 little tricks that I use to refocus on myself and that could be very useful to you!

Take the time to stop and admit that you can't do everything

The first step to taking care of yourself is really to stop. It is obviously impossible to focus on ourselves if we keep doing a thousand and one things at the same time. We have to admit that there may be days that are less productive than others and that we don't always have to be connected to our phone. So have your morning coffee or tea without looking at any screen. Savor that moment you have while disconnected.

Schedule a specific time when we do something for ourselves

Taking care of ourselves necessarily involves taking time for ourselves. It can be difficult, between work, family, daily life... I myself am a young adult, I don't have a family yet but soon, as soon as school starts, I will have to juggle between school, my part-time job, in addition to the French classes I give once a week, my family, my friends and my lover. It may be hard to believe that I will be able to find time for myself, but I know that I will be able to, as I have done it in the past. My trick? Force myself to take a block of time, at least once a day, to be alone and do what I want. I usually take that time in the evening, before I go to bed. I read, listen to a series or a movie. Whatever I want to do, I do it during this time. And this time is very precious to me. It belongs to me and I can't do without it.

Surround yourself well

What kind of people do you want to spend time with? Negative people, who demotivate you, put you down and make fun of you, or positive people, who encourage you, believe in you, support you in your failures and celebrate your successes with you? Personally, I would choose the second category ;) The more positive people you have around you, the more positive you will be yourself. And with this mindset, it is much easier to take care of yourself!

Write

It's a known fact that one of the best ways to express your emotions and release your stress and anxiety is to write. Get a notebook that you will use only for this purpose or a sheet of paper and write. Write down your fears, what worries you, what shocks you or what saddens you. But also write down your pride, your successes, your positive thoughts, and what you are grateful for. You can also write a story about your day. This allows you to put on paper what happened during your day and to look back on it. In fact, I used to do this for a long time and in addition to writing about my day, I would write down 3 positive things that happened during each day. It could be as simple as saying I had a great chocolate muffin. After a few weeks of doing this practice, I was already seeing results. I felt much lighter, zen, less stressed and grateful. I was incredibly happy.

So feel free to write. Write whatever you want. It can even be part of your moment when you do something for you ;) After all, the important thing is to focus on yourself and not forget that you are the most important person in your life. 

- Camille Benaim, Administrative assistant